Courting Trouble (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 3) by Kathy Carmichael Read Free Book Online Page B

of the interior dome light. Then his gaze fastened on her blue skirt, riding up her slender thighs. Oh, yeah, that was why.
    He quickly looked back to her angry eyes. "You're mad. Right? If it's because of the kiss, I can explain..."
    How could he, thought Diedra. How could he kiss her one minute and then act as though nothing had happened? Didn't he feel it too? When his lips had touched hers, she'd felt as though her insides had been lit up by a swarm of lightning bugs. She brought her fingers up to touch the lips he'd so recently caressed, but abruptly brought her hand down. She knew she'd nearly shown him just how much his kiss affected her, and it brought a flush to her cheeks.
    And he followed up by suggesting she take her car into the shop? And now he wanted to explain the kiss? A kiss like she'd never experienced before. A kiss that reminded her of Independence Day sparklers in all their fiery glory.
    "I'm not mad about the kiss, Chuck. And if you don't get it, I'm not going to tell you." She ran a hand through her hair, hoping she would appear nonchalant. "Let's find Meagan and Jeff."
    Alec threw the car into gear, but try as they might, they couldn't find Jeff's car. Alec pulled to the shoulder of the road, then glanced up a gravel driveway at a parked car that looked like the one they'd followed.
    "Thank goodness, we've found them," she said.
    Alec shook his head. "That's not his license plate number." He slammed down the accelerator, stirring up loose rock as the car darted forward.
    Diedra watched him as he drove. All his concentration was directed on the road and looking for Jeff. A lock of his wavy dark hair had fallen over his high forehead, giving him a boyish look. It was hard to remain angry when all she really wanted to do was run her hand through that hair and kiss him until the morning. Oh, baby.
    Tension knotted her stomach. Meagan. Where had Jeff taken her? Had she and Alec gone tearing off too quickly? "Do you think we followed the wrong car? Maybe we should go back to town. They might have returned by now."
    Alec stopped the car again and their eyes met. Neither said a word. After a long moment, Alec turned away. "I can't think of where else to look for them, unless they've gone home."
    He made a U-turn, heading back to Dallas.
    Diedra closed her eyes and pressed into her seat. Maybe she'd overreacted to the threat posed by Jeff. Alec seemed confident that Jeff was still in love with Meagan. And Jeff had never done anything to lead her to believe he'd harm her sister.
    With the way the day had progressed, it really wasn't any wonder she had panicked. After seeing those knives flying at Alec's crotch, well, wouldn't it be normal to feel tense? Her neck and back muscles were probably permanently clenched from the worry.
    As they drove back, they decided to go home and each check whether their half of the errant couple had returned.
    They detoured first to the restaurant, but found no sign of Meagan, Jeff, Bert, Heather or Mimi. Alec drove on to his office parking garage.
    He started to climb out of the car, but his gaze met hers and he leaned toward her. Was he going to kiss her again? Half of her wanted him to and the other half wanted to punch his lights out after his reaction earlier. She sat there frozen, heart pumping up a storm. He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
    Wordlessly, he got out of the car. She watched as he walked away. He didn't turn back once.
    Jerk. She eyed his backside. Too-cute-for-words jerk. And she was stupid, stupid, stupid. She definitely had it bad for him and it seemed to be getting worse.
    She headed home, hoping to find Meagan. How could their carefully laid plans have gone so awry?
    When she pulled up to her house, it was dark. Her heart sank.
    She let herself in and immediately discarded her sandals. A quick check through the house turned up no sign of her sister. Now what should she do? Should she call Alec? Maybe Meagan was with Jeff at Alec's place. That's